A Symphony For A Child

‘Symphony for a Child’ a charity concert was held at Lionel Wendt recently. All proceeds of the event will be channelled towards refurbishment and maintenance of the two Pediatric Wards of the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Mulleriyawa. The concert was a brain-child of Sirima Jayasekera, a former Concert Pianist and music teacher. This year it was a very special event as it was held to commemorate the birth anniversary of her late beloved husband, Mr Brighty Jayasekera, who left this mortal world ten years ago. This time two of the four
Jayasekera children, Shanthi and Keshini, had come down from the UK for the occasion. The Chief Guest was Dr. Pramilla Senanayake. There was a profound variety of musical fare that was dished out to an appreciative audience. The artistes included the reputed St. Cecilia’s Choir of St. Joseph’s College, Rochelle Todd and Vindula Perera with fantastic vocals, Sulara Nanayakkara, the gifted violinist, the exceptional tenor Emesh Wijewardena, Tilanka Jayamanne on the flute, Rushane Fernando on the classical guitar and Ravibandu Vidyapathy
ensemble with four expert drummers. Piano accompaniments were provided by Ryanthie Kumarasinghe, Ramya De Livera Perera and Nishantha Warunakulasuriya.
The grand finale was by St. Cecilia’s Choir of St. Joseph’s College with some personal favourites of Mr. Brighty Jayasekera. At the end, the audience kept on asking for an encore and the choir obliged with the theme from Lion King. It was apparent that the discerning and perceptive audience had a super time. Their fantastically approving responses with prolonged applause, was telling evidence of their approval and delight. The general opinion was that this was the very best of all Symphonies for a Child that had been showcased in the past. The icing on the cake was the fact that all the artistes performed without any remunerations whatsoever, as a special gesture for Mrs Sirima Jayasekera.